Assembly tool



Sept. 21, 1965 R. D. BAKER 3,206,842

ASSEMBLY TOOL Filed July 13, 1962 I NVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,266,842 ASSEMBLY TOOL Ray D. Baker, Utica, Mich,assignor of fifty percent to Ralph F. Blackett, Utica, Mich. Filed July13, 1962, Ser. No. 209,731 8 Claims. (C1, 29-203) This invention relatesto a tool to facilitate assembly of a member through an eyelet in a postor pin normally covered by one end of a coiled retaining spring in itsunstressed condition and, in particular, relates to such a tool tofacilitate assembly of an electrical conducting wire through an eyeletin the electrode post of an electrical condensor having an axiallycoiled compression-type retaining spring surrounding the post andadapted to hold the wire in the eyelet once assembled therein.

The present invention 'was conceived as a solution to the problem ofassembling or connecting an electrical conducting wire through an eyeletin the electrode post of an electrical condenser including a retainingcompression spring therefor and, accordingly, in order to facilitate anunderstanding of the invention and not obscure the latter, particularreference will be made hereinafter to such problem and the manner inwhich the tool of this invention completely solves it in an efficient,economical and otherwise commercially acceptable manner. However, as thedescription of the invention proceeds, it will become readily apparentthat the tool of this invention may be utilized to advantage in otherenvironments.

More specifically, electrical condensers are in use today in theignition systems of certain small internal combustion engines such as,for example, engines used on power lawnmowers and the like, whichcondensers comprise a body member from one end of which there projects acylindrical current-conducting electrode post having an eyelet extendingcompletely therethrough to receive a bare electrical conducting wireforming a part of the ignition system as will be readily appreciated. Anaxially coiled compression-type retaining spring surrounds theaforementioned electrode post with a base end abutting the end of thecondenser body from which the post projects, the spring in theunstressed condition thereof extending away from the aforementioned endof the condenser body and along the length of the post to an extent towhich the other free end thereof covers the aforementioned eyelet in theelectrode post. Such retaining spring is adapted to be compressedaxially so as to expose the aforementioned eyelet sufiiciently to permitinsertion of the electrical conducting wire therethrough, followed byrelease of the retaining spring enabling the latter to expand to engageits free end with the conducting wire to retain the latter within theeyelet.

To facilitate this assembly operation, particularly by servicemenworking on engines equipped with such condensers, one enginemanufacturer at least has provided a tool consisting essentially of ahandle member having a bifurcated head at one end thereof definingspaced legs, the object being for the serviceman to grasp the handle ofthe tool and bring the bifurcated head thereof down along the electrodepost to engage the legs of the head with the free end of the spring todepress the latter for insertion of the wire through the eyelet in theelectrode post. Considerable difficulty has been encountered inperforming this assembly operation using such tool; as a matter of fact,such tool and its use in such an assembly operation have been found tobe totally unsatisfactory because it is extremely difiicult for oneperson to maintain control over the condenser and the retaining springthereof.

3,295,842 Patented Sept. 21, 1965 More specifically, no insurmountableproblem is encountered if the body of the condenser is grasped firmly inone hand and the tool aforementioned is manipulated in the other todepress the spring. The difficulty here, of course, is that theservicernan then has no free hand available to insert the conductingwire through the eyclet once the retaining spring is compressed. If thebase of the condenser, rather than holding the latter in one hand, isplaced on a table or other suitable support surface and the tool used tocompress the spring thereby freeing one hand for insertion of theconducting wire through the eyelet, it has been found that quite oftenthe instability of the condenser on the support surface results in thecondenser tipping or the tool otherwise slipping from the spring,resulting in the compressive forces stored in the latter propelling thespring from the condenser. As a result, the spring is often lost. As aconsequence, in actual practice, two persons have been required tocomplete this assembly operation with facility. The tool of the presentinvention is directed. to a solution to these and other problems in theart.

It is, therefore, a principal object and feature of this invention toprovide a tool to facilitate assembly of a member through an eyelet in apost or pin for retention therein by engagement thereof with one end ofan axially coiled compression-type spring retaining means, andparticularly for assembling a conducting wire through an eyelet in theelectrode post of an electrical condenser having such a coiled retainingspring, the tool comprising a pair of lever members each including ahandle portion and a jaw portion, means pivotally interconnecting thelever members intermediate their respective handle and jaw portions formovement of the latter relative to each other during the assemblyoperation, the jaw portion of one of the lever members being adapted tosupport the base of an object such as a condenser thereon with the pinor post of the latter extending toward the jaw portion of the other ofthe lever means, and sleeve means secured to the jaw portion of theother of the lever means and being telescopically movable relative tothe post or pin in closely confining relation thereto to compress theretaining spring sufliciently to enable insertion of the member or wirethrough the eyelet while positively preventing displacement of the.object or condenser from between the jaw portions of the tool.

It is yet another object and feature of this invention to provide a toolof the type aforedescribed further comprising means on theaforementioned sleeve establishing communication therethrough with theaforementioned eyelet to permit assembly of the member or wire throughthe sleeve into the eyelet.

It is yet another object and feature of this invention to provide a toolof the type aforementioned further comprising means, preferablyassociated with the aforementioned sleeve, cooperable with the post orpin in which the member or wire is being assembled to limit relativetelescopic movement of the sleeve about the pin or post so as tocompress the retaining spring to a predetermined extent merelysufiicient for insertion of the member or wire through the eyelet,thereby avoiding overstressing of the spring and the imposition ofunnecessary forces on the tool while insuring that the eyelet is exposedto receive the member or wire.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention willappear more fully hereinafter as the description thereof proceeds,reference being made to the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical elevation of an electrical condenser assembly ofthe type to which a conducting wire is adapted to be assembled, thecomponents of the condenser assembly being shown in the position theyassume prior to the assembly operation;

FIGURE 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the tool of thisinvention, and the relationship of the latter to the condenser assemblyof FIGURE 1 at the start of an assembly operation;

FIGURE 3 is a view corresponding generally to FIG- URE 2, butillustrating the tool and certain components of the condenser assemblyin the positions they assume just after assembling the wire to thecondenser, and before releasing the tool;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 44 ofFIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 55 ofFIGURE 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral generally indicates acondenser assembly comprising a sub stantially cylindrical condenserbody 12 having a base surface 14, an opposite end surface 16 and anelectrode post 18 of circular cross section projecting from the latter.An eyelet 20 extends completely through the electrode post apredetermined distance below the upper end of the latter, and an axiallycoiled compression-type retaining spring 22 is disposed closelycircumjacent the post with one end abutting the end surface 16 of thecondenser body and the other or free end thereof extending beyond theeyelet in the unstressed condition of the spring, all as illustrated inFIGURE 1. A preferred embodiment of the assembly tool of this inventionis indicated generally at 24, and comprises a pair of lever members 26each including at one end thereof a handle or grip portion 28 and, atthe other ends thereof, the respective jaw members or portions 30 and32. Suitable fastener means as indicated at 34 pivotally interconnectsthe lever members 26 intermediate the handle and jaw portions thereofwhereby manipulation of the handle or grip portions of the lever membersin one hand moves the jaw members or portions relative to each in apliers-like fashion. A hollow cylindrical-like sleeve 36 is open at oneend and includes a base portion 38 opposite the open end thereof andadapted to be suitably rigidly secured to the jaw member or portion 30so as to project therefrom toward the jaw portion or member 32. In thisregard, however, it will be obvious that the sleeve may be open at bothends with the adjacent portion of the jaw member or portion 30 formingthe base thereof, or even be formed integrally with the jaw portion ormember 30. A pair of opposed longitudinal slots 40 are formed in thesleeve 36 and extend from the open end thereof toward the base portion38 to a suitable predetermined extent in accordance with considerationswhich will appear more fully hereinafter. The internal diameter of thesleeve 36 is just slightly greater than the external diameter of thepost 18 so as to closely confiningly retain the latter and engage thefree end of spring 22 during the assembly operation as indicatedparticularly in FIGURES 3 and 4.

In operation, the tool is initially manipulated in one hand and thecondenser assembly 10 of FIGURE 1 in the other to permit insertion ofthe condenser assembly between the jaw portions 30 and 32 with the basesurface 14 of the condenser body resting on the substantially flatsurface of the jaw portion 32 and the sleeve 36 initially slightlytelescoped over the upper end of electrode post 18 as illustrated inFIGURE 2. In this position, the end of the sleeve 36 on opposite sidesof the longitudinal slots 40 therein engages the upper end coil of thespring 22 whereby, upon subsequent squeezing movement of the handle orgrip portions 28 toward each other, the respective jaw members orportions likewise move toward each other to the position shown in FIGURE3 in which sleeve 36 is telescoped about the upper end of post 18.

In the position of FIGURE 3, retaining spring 22 has been compressedsufiiciently so as to completely expose the eyelet 20 in the electrodepost. If not initially so oriented, the condenser body 12 may be easilyturned about the axis of the electrode post so as to align the eyeletwith the opposed slots 40 in the sleeve 36. At this time, the conductingwire 42 may be inserted through one slot in the sleeve, through theeyelet and out the other slot. Subsequent release of the handle or gripportions 28 then releases the spring 22 which will re-expand so as toengage its free or upper end core with the conducting wire 42 atopposite ends of the eyelet to firmly and positively hold the conductingwire in position therewithin.

At this juncture it should be noted that, from the time that thecondenser assembly 10 is initially installed between the jaw members orportions of the tool 24 as illustrated in FIGURE 2, positive control ismaintained thereover with the use of but one hand. Thus, upon squeezingthe handle or grip portions 28 in one hand to move the tool from theposition of FIGURE 2 to that of FIGURE 3, the condenser body is firmlyheld between the jaw members or portions 30 and 32 and positivelyprevented from being displaced in any direction therefrom due to thefact that the sleeve 36 relatively closely confines a considerablelength of the electrode post 18. Yet, the condenser body may be easilyturned about its axis to align the slots in the sleeve with the eyeletfor the assembly operation aforedescribed.

In the course of squeezing the handle or grip portions 28 to move thetool from the position of FIGURE 2 to that of FIGURE 3, means areprovided for positively limiting telescopic movement of the sleeve 36about the post 18; that is, and referring particularly to FIGURE 4, itwill be noted that the base portion 38 of the sleeve is adapted to abutthe upper end of the post 18 to limit such squeezing movement. Sever-a1desirable results are obtained from this cooperation between the sleeveand the electrode post. Thus, abutment of the base portion of the sleeveand the electrode post positively limits squeezing movement of the toolwithout any attention whatsoever being given to this operation by theoperator of the tool. As a consequence, when the operator feels theresistance of such abutment, he is assured of the fact that the eyelet20 is completely exposable between the slots 40 upon rotativemanipulation, if required, of the condenser body 12 as aforementioned.Secondly, he knows that the sleeve 36 has telescoped suificiently aboutthe electrode post to positively prevent any lateral displacement in anydirection whatsoever of the condenser body 12 from between the jaws ofthe tool. Thirdly, this stop action prevents unnecessary compression andstressing of the spring 22.

It should also be noted that the tool of this invention s relativelyinexpensive and simple to f b i t i mg, essentially, of two pieces ofidentical metal stock bent or otherwise formed in the configurationshown in FIGURES 2 and 3, and provided with the sleeve 36. As lndlqatedo e, the sleeve may be formed integrally from the aw member or portion30, as by being struck th from, or be a separate piece suitably securedthereto.

In vlew of the foregoing description, it will now be apparent that thepresent invention provides a relatively simple, eificient, inexpensiveand otherwise commercially acceptable means for very rapidly assemblinga member such as a conducting wire through an eyelet in the pin or postof a device such as an electrical condenser as specifically referred toin this application, the tool positively preventing mis-manipulation ofthe object or condenser during the assembly operation which can bereadily and efficiently accomplished by but a single person.

While but one form of the invention has been shown and described, otherforms will now be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, itwill be understood that the embodiment shown in the drawing anddescribed above is merely for illustrative purposes, and is not intendedto limit the scope of the invention which is defined by the claims whichfollow.

I claim:

1. A tool to facilitate assembly of a member through an eyelet in a postof an object having coiled compression spring means surrounding saidpost with one end thereof abuttingly engageable with said member whenthe latter is installed in said eyelet, said tool comprising a pair oflever members each including a handle portion and a jaw portion, meanspivotally interconnecting said lever members intermediate theirrespective handle and jaw portions for movement of the latter relativeto each other, the jaw portion of one of said lever members beingadapted to support one of the objects thereon with the post thereofextending toward the jaw portion of the other of said lever members, anda sleeve secured to the jaw portion of said other of said lever membersand including an open end thereof telescopically movable about the postto confine the latter within said sleeve and between said jaw portionsand to compress the spring means and expose the eyelet to permitinsertion of the member therethrough.

2. The tool as defined in claim 1 further comprising means on saidsleeve alignable with the eyelet in the telescoped position of saidsleeve to permit insertion of the member into said sleeve and throughthe eyelet.

3. An assembly tool to facilitate assembly of an electrical conductingwire through an eyelet in the electrode post of an electrical condenserhaving coiled compression spring means surrounding said post with oneend thereof abuttingly engageable with said wire to hold it in saideyelet, said tool comprising a pair of lever members each including ahandle portion and a jaw portion, means pivotally interconnecting saidlever members intermediate their respective handle and jaw portions formovement of the latter relative to each other, the jaw portion of one ofsaid lever members being adapted to support a condenser thereon with thepost thereof extending toward said jaw portion of the other of saidlever members, a sleeve secured to the jaw portion of said other of saidlever members and including an open end thereof telescopically movableabout the post to confine the latter within said sleeve and between saidjaw portions and to compression the spring means to expose the eyeletfor insertion of the wire therethrough, and means on said sleevealignable with the eyelet in the telescoped position of said sleeve topermit insertion of the wire into said sleeve and through the eyelet.

4. The tool as defined in claim 3 in which said lastnamed meanscomprises opposed slots on said sleeve extending longitudinally from theopen end thereof toward the jaw portion of said other of said levermembers.

5. The tool as defined in claim 3 further comprising means limitingrelative movement of said jaw portions in telescoping said sleeve aboutthe post and compression of said spring means to a predeterminedposition exposing the eyelet.

6. The tool as defined in claim 3 in which said sleeve further includesa base portion abuttable with the end of the post to limit relativemovement of said jaw portions and telescopic movement of said sleeveabout the post to compress said spring means to a predetermined extentin which said eyelet is exposed.

7. The tool as defined in claim 3 in which the post is substantiallycircular in cross section and said sleeve closely embrace the post toconfine the latter.

8. The tool as defined in claim 7 further comprising means limitingrelative movement of said jaw portions and telescopic movement of saidsleeve about the post and compression of the spring means to apredetermined extent exposing the eyelet, and in which said means onsaid sleeve alignable with the eyelet comprises opposed longitudinalslots in said sleeve.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,158,618 11/15Alefs 29-221 1,791,961 2/31 Frye 29 221 2,505,564 4/50 Meyer 29-2272,554,623 5/51 Leu 29-219 3,094,774 6/63 Nazarow et a1 29-203 WHITMOREA. WILTZ, Primary Examiner. THOMAS H. EAGER, Examiner.

1. A TOOL TO FACILITATE ASSEMBLY OF A MEMBER THROUGH AN EYELET IN A POSTOF AN OBJECT HAVING COILED COMPRESSION SPRING MEANS SURROUNDING SAIDPOST WITH ONE END THEREOF ABUTTINGLY ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID MEMBER WHENTHE LATTER IS INSTALLED IN SAID EYELET, SAID TOOL COMPRISING A PAIR OFLEVER MEMBERS EACH INCLUDING A HANDLE PORTION AND A JAW PORTION, MEANSPIVOTALLY INTERCONNECTING SAID LEVER MEMBERS INTERMEDIATE THEIRRESPECTIVE HANDLE AND JAW PORTIONS FOR MOVEMENT OF THE LATTER RELATIVETO EACH OTHER, THE JAW PORTION OF ONE OF SAID LEVER MEMBERS BEINGADAPTED TO SUPPORT ONE OF THE OBJECTS THEREON WITH THE POST THEREOFEXTENDING TOWARD THE JAW PORTION OF THE JAW OF SAID LEVER MEMBERS, AND ASLEEVE SECURED TO THE JAW PORTION OF SAID OTHER OF SAID LEVER MEMBERSAND INCLUDING AN OPEN END THEREOF TELESCOPICALLY MOVABLE ABOUT THE POSTTO CONFINE THE LATTER WITHIN SAID SLEEVE AND BETWEEN SAID JAW PORTIONSAND TO COMPRESS THE SPRING MEANS AND EXPOSE THE EYELET TO PERMITINSERTION OF THE MEMBER THERETHROUGH.